Tips to save money in Copenhagen

Copenhagen is an expensive city! You probably read this in every single blog post about the city you’ve seen so far. Well, it’s true. Comparing to the others European capitals, Copenhagen is almost on top of the list. That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your trip because you want to save some bucks. If you’re traveling on a budget but the destination is more expensive than usual, you just have to plan better what to do with the money (and time) you have.

Here are my tips to save money when in Copenhagen

Estipulate an amount to spend during your stay – It’s so easy to spend money and crack the bank, we all know that. A museum entrance here, a present from the gift shop there, little things that you don’t fell like spending, but when you realize… Bye-bye money. If you stipulate how much you want to spend during the whole trip, you’ll think twice before buying anything.

Save the money for what you really want to do – It’s all about priorities! What you really want to do and see in Copenhagen? Enter the Tivoli Garden, visit the museums, enjoy the restaurants and bars. Once you decide that, it’s easier to distribute the amount you have/want to spend. If you can’t do everything you want, pick the most and indispensable thing and save the money for it.

Danish Kroner

The free attractions are right there waiting for you – A lot of attractions in Copenhagen are for free, like The Little Mermaid, the Kastellet, Nyhavn, Christiania, Rosenborg Castle (the outside area at least), the National Museum. Some of the attractions are not free but cheap to get in, like the Round Tower and the Church of Our Savior, both with nice views of the city.

The Little Mermaid, a famous and free attraction in Copenhagen

Enjoy the street food, or make the streets your restaurant – Tasting the street food in the city you are visiting is always a good idea, and in Copenhagen is not different. You can also grab food and wine at the supermarket and eat/drink in some nice area, like Nyhavn and surrounds. By doing that, at least one or two times, you’ll save some Kroner.

Make the supermarket your best friend – The water at the supermarket costs around DKK 4,5 and on the streets around DKK 15. A bottle of wine at a restaurant cost at least DKK 80 (in a cheap place), and at the supermarket, you can find it for DKK 30. The supermarket will always be your friend when you want to save money, no matter where you are.

Danish street food

Open air meal

Buy the 24h ticket to ride the subway/buses the day before leaving the city – If you buy the 24h ticket in your last 24 hours in Copenhagen, you can ride the subway/buses all day long and still save money to go to the airport in the next day. It’s a good idea to leave all the not walkable distance attractions for the last day to enjoy the most of the ticket. The train pass to go to the airport costs DKK 36 (from the city center), and the 24h ticket costs DKK 80, so if you use the subway or bus a few times the day before – which will cost at least DKK 24 each ride – then it’s worth it.

Kvæsthusmolen, great area to grab a bite with a view or just chill

The prices presented here are from September of 2016, and the currency is Danish Kroner